New research by My Pension Expert has revealed that three-in-five women (60% of UK women in employment say they have not done any pension planning beyond auto-enrolment into their workplace pension scheme (compared to 46% of men).
They commissioned an independent survey of 2,000 UK adults. It found that amongst a trend of low engagement and contributing amongst pension planners the figures were worse for women.
When looking at the proportion of UK employees who do not know whether they have a workplace pension or how much they contribute to it, the figures were almost twice as high for women (15%), compared to 8% of men.
Women are also more likely to only contribute the legal 8% minimum amount (5% employee contribution and 3% employer contribution) to their workplace pension pot (19%) compared to male respondents (15%).
My Pension Expert’s research also uncovered that less than half of women with a workplace pension (44%) say they know how it is performing, compared to 60% of men.
Lily Megson, Policy Director at My Pension Expert, said: “Our research casts a daunting shadow over the financial futures of British women as the gender pensions gap once again rears its ugly head.
“Women’s retirement health is already impaired by their lower lifetime earnings, so it is doubly concerning that they are not being especially diligent with their pension planning. And with one in six women contributing the legal minimum to their workplace, there is a real risk that many will be unable to adequately support a financially stable lifestyle in retirement.
“It’s clear that more needs to be done to get women engaging with their pension planning both in and out of the workplace – this is where the government and employers must step in. It is critical that robust financial education and pension monitoring tools are made widely available for the UK workforce, and more importantly, that proper encouragement and support is given to engage with them.
Only then will women be able to be truly financially empowered and fully engaged with their pension.”
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